Lest We Perish

The American Committee for Relief in the Near East was founded in 1915 in response to the Armenian Genocide, which resulted in the slaughter of 1.5 million Armenians. The mission of the ACRNE was and still is to create a more prosperous community in the Middle East and Africa through economic developmental initiatives. After reports of the atrocities in the Ottoman Empire, this committee was formed. America still played a neutral part in the role, so many citizens began a humanitarian campaign to send aid instead of war to people in the Ottoman Empire. The committee began a grassroots campaign to raise money, using celebrity spokespeople who told captivating stories from the field to inspire Americans from all economic backgrounds to support the foundation. Also several posters (like the poster attached) were commissioned by the foundation to make the American people sympathetic and eager to donate. This organization has played a crucial role in establishing the American philanthropic tradition.

This particular image, titled “Lest we perish Campaign for $30,000,000,” was created in 1918 by Ethel Franklin Betts three years after the founding of the ACRNE. The words “LEST WE PERISH” are printed in large red font at the forefront of the poster, exclaiming that if the girl does not receive aid soon she will die. The image portrays a “Near eastern girl” (by her dark hair and scarf) with her arms outstretched, as if asking for help or aid of some kind, also dressed in ragged clothing. The use of a young girl in the image attempts to stir up emotions of sympathy and wishing to help. The colors are dark and grey, portraying a bleak and dismal situation for people in the near east. The poster lists which countries need aid: Armenia, Greece, Syria, and Persia. It is clear that this work was intended for any American citizens to give what they can. This poster shows the lofty goals that these organizations hoped to reach during wartime, and that they did not even say what the aid was going to be used for. The date that this poster was released shows that the ACRNE has had success raising large sums of money over the past three years. This particular poster was sponsored by the United States Committee on Public Information, which was the U.S. propaganda agency of World War I (Brewer 47). It is possible the money raised from this particular campaign was not even given as aid for the Near East, but rather to the war effort.

The Great War being the first American Total War allowed for agencies and foundations to use propaganda indiscriminately to increase their income. Even a humanitarian agency like ACRNE took advantage of the lower class to give money what they can to the cause. There would be nothing to rebuke this propaganda because the information was being received from the CPI which controlled what could and could not be known. This campaign was a complete success, and the ACRNE is still around today under the title of the Near East Foundation (NEF).

A copy of this poster is available in the Collection of World War I Era and Related Posters, circa 1917-1919. SCRB Collection 17. Special Collections and Rare Books, Folke Bernadotte Memorial Library, Gustavus Adolphus College, St. Peter, Minnesota.

Sources:

Brewer, Susan A. Why America Fights: Patriotism and War Propaganda from the Philippines to Iraq. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009.